Rescued (title will change)
by Kevin4baconhugs
Summary: A group of young mutants is rescued from an underground lab by the X-Men. Umm... Sorry, I suck at summaries. Plz read! This is my first fan fic. (Warning: Lots of OCs) Rated because I'm paranoid, and possibly for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Fuck, Zander thought, feeling his stomach twist in pain as the Scientists injected him with the 'healing' medicine. He tried to wriggle out of the bonds, but they were solid.

"Now now, 837," Said Dr. Richter, the head scientist, with his stupid thick German accent, "I don't want my little project getting away… and don't even try your little telepathic tricks on me. That part of your brain has been blocked." The voice of Dr. Rectum (as Zander liked to call him) was muffled by his sterile mask and the blood rushing to Zander's ears.

Zander whined hoarsely through the gag.

"Hush now, child. You know very well that I can't let you leave. You'll be lost without this drug. In case you haven't noticed, you're addicted. Your sanity won't survive more than a day without it." Richter pulled the needle out of Zander's arm. He turned to the monitor screens, and his phone rang. "What is it?" He shouted, "Don't you know I am busy?"

There was a murmur from the other end of the line.

"I don't care if there are intruders! Get them out! Wait, the X-Men?!" He dropped the phone and started gathering his drugs and equipment very quickly, somehow forgetting about his little 'test subject', Zander. The doctors rushed out of the door. It locked behind them, and Zander was left alone.

The boy screamed, but it was muffled by the gag. He heard loud crashes above him, and he desperately tried to unblock his mind to get a message to the people above him, but it didn't work. Then there was silence.

No, He thought, No, no, no. Please, no. Not now, please not now. Tears streamed down his face. No! Wait, I can do this. They'll hear me, they will hear me.

He couldn't stop the tears, but he could still focus, and focus he did, forcing the block out with all of his might.

Meanwhile, on the ground above, the X-Men were just taking the last of the young mutants out of the underground lab. The mission had so far been successful, and the children were safe. Most of them were sitting, huddled together as their heros tried to calm them down. There were fifteen in all.

One particular girl, though, stood out against the rest. Her snow-white face and ice blue eyes were soaked with tears, her dirty clothes torn at the knees from falling on the way out. She looked about eighteen.

"Zander!" The girl was sobbing, reaching for the entrance to the lab. The others held her back as she tried to push her way towards it. "My brother! You can't leave him down there!"

"Celine, we already checked, no one else is in there." Jean said, grabbing her shoulders.

"He's not dead!" She screamed, before melting into Jean's arms, sobbing once more. "He's not… dead. I would feel it… if he was dead…"

"Where is he then?"

"Th-they took him t-to a lower level. He told me when he got down there. It was before they… b-before they…"

"What did they do, Celine?"

"They p-put some s-sort of wall in his head, I think. One minute he just stopped talking."

"Is he a telepath? Is that how he talked to you?"

Celine nodded, trying with no success to wipe the tears off of her face.

Jean turned to the professor. "Maybe if we search again…" She was cut off when an awful wave of psychic power burst from underground. Both of the telepaths held their heads with pain.

There were no words in the message, it merely acted as a beacon, leading them to its source.

Jean stood, heading back towards the entrance. "Scott!" She yelled, "I need your help! You too, Kurt."

The two boys joined her, and they rushed down the stairs, following Jean blindly through the dark corridors. The walls here were already crumbling from the destruction above, and they had to dodge flying rubble.

"That one, Scott," Jean said, pointing to the door through which the psychic blasts were emanating, "Break it open."

Scott nodded, removing his visor. Two optic blasts shot from his eyes, tearing the door from its hinges. He returned his visor, and they made their way through the debris.

Laying on an examining table in the middle of the room was the boy they were looking for. He had the same silver hair, snow white skin, and smooth features as Celine, but he was much smaller, looking to be twelve years old, and two large dragon- style wings protruded from his back. Multiple straps held him to the table, keeping him in place.

Jean touched her hand to his face, and the telepath cut off his beacon, finally feeling safe. He looked dizzy from all of the effort it took to remove the mental block.

"Hold on." Jean used her mutant abilities to undo his bonds and lift him up, carrying him in midair. The building's fall became faster, and Jean put the boy in Kurt's arms, holding on to the two of them. Scott did the same. "Nightcrawler, port us out of here!"

With a poof of smoke, they were outside.

The night air felt cool against Zander's bare chest as the blue mutant known as Nightcrawler laid him down gently on the pavement. A sigh escaped his lips.

"Zander! Oh my god, you're alive!" Celine dashed to his side and pulled him into a hug, saying, "I knew you weren't dead! I knew it!"

The movement was a little too fast for the boy to handle, and he hardly turned away in time to heave what little food there was left in his stomach onto the sidewalk.

Celine's face twisted slightly in disgust, but still she held her little brother close.

"I-I don't feel so good, Celine." He muttered.

"I know, Z, I know." She said.

The winged boy's eyes fluttered, and he slipped slowly into darkness.

Celine lifted Zander into her arms, despite the weight of his wings. She thanked the heavens that she had her strength, especially in times like this, when she just needed to be close to her brother.

"So," Scott asked the small group of children sitting outside of the crumbling building, "Who's up for a plane ride?"

Zander sat up, happy to be able to do so again, and yawned, revealing a mouthful of crooked and pointed teeth. He reached out with his mind to find his sister, and found her very close by. In fact, she was sitting in a chair right next to his bed, fast asleep.

After he mentally poked her a few times, she stirred.

"Celine?" He asked, "Celine, where are we?"

"You're awake!" She said happily, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Where are we?" He asked again.

"We're safe, and right now that's all that matters. How are you feeling?"

"Better, I think… How long have we been here?"

"Three days. They had to get that weird drug out of your system, and thankfully, you didn't wake up."

"Oh. I…" Zander stopped when he felt the presence of three people down the hall. Without realizing it, he reached out telepathically and entered their minds.

"Hello Charles," He said, nodding respectively as the three figures entered the room, "Ororo, Jean."

"I prefer Professor Xavier, not Charles." The old man said, rolling closer in his wheelchair.

"And I would like it if you called me Storm." Ororo said. She was tall, with lovely white hair and dark skin.

"Right, sorry."

"Zander, we have a rule here that applies to you." Xavier said, "Telepaths are not allowed to enter anyone's mind without permission."

"It was an accident, I'm sorry." He muttered, moving his head forward so that his long, silver hair fell in front of his eyes.

"I understand. I went through similar incidents myself, as did Miss Jean."

"Professor, we need to get him some clean clothes and a shower; maybe we should move him to…" Jean didn't finish as she nodded and left the room.

"We will move you to a room which you can share with young man a bit older than yourself, but first a shower and a meal." The Professor instructed Zander.

The boy hopped off the bed.

"How come I have to share a room?"

"Well, in all honesty, I'd like to keep an eye on you. Putting you in a room with someone else sort of makes my job a bit easier. Besides, the institute has been a little crowded recently, so almost everyone has at least one roommate."

"So… About that shower…"

"Come along." Storm said, beckoning for him to follow her out of the room.

Zander spent the better part of two hours in the shower, washing slowly and spending minutes at a time just letting the warm water flow over his body. He hadn't been given the privilege of warm showers when he was in Richter's under- ground lab, just a cold rinse with a rough bar of soap. Actually, this was probably the first real shower he'd had since… well, a long time ago.

By the time he had dried off his wings and put on the clean clothes they gave him, he was starving. He walked out of the bathroom and headed towards the voices to his left, recognizing both Jean's and Celine's. Both girls were sitting at a table with multiple other students.

"There you are, Zander." Celine patted the seat next to her. Unlike the other chairs, his was a stool, so that it was easier for him to sit with his wings.

As he climbed into the stool, he carefully folded his wings behind him.

"You sure were in there for a long time." Jean joked.

He blushed, which was impossible to hide with his snow- white complexion. Even the slightest embarrassment made him bright red, which was why he always grew out his hair, so that he could hide his face.

"Don't worry, I understand. I'd bet those wings are pretty troublesome."

"Yeah, and I didn't get that kind of thing in Richter's lab. It feels pretty good to actually be clean again."

"I agree." Said a kid sitting near them. He had spiky black hair, big hazel eyes, and smooth, angular features, and he seemed to be about Zander's age. "My name is Aidyn, by the way. You're Zander, right?"

"Um, yeah." He was glad his hair was already in his eyes. Everyone already knew his name, which meant they could know other things, too. Knowing his sister…

"Where's the dang food?" Asked another student loudly. Zander didn't recognize him as any of the mutants from the lab. His hair was

"Hold on, Forman. It'll be here any minute." Jean said.

True enough, only moments later, dinner was brought to the table. There were plates full of cooked bratwursts and hot dogs, followed by all of the fixings, different kinds of salads, and a bunch of chips.

Zander grew a little excited. He had never eaten this kind of food, really, and was eager to try something new.

"Looks delicious." Celine said, grabbing a plate.

Everyone else did the same, and Zander followed suit. He took a bratwurst and a bun, putting only ketchup and two slices of cheese on it.

As he bit into his meal, his sister laughed. "You haven't eaten any good food in almost eight years, and that's all you get?" She shook her head and dumped a handful of chips on to his plate. Then she handed him a soda, after she had opened it, of course.

"Eight years?" Jean asked.

"About. Maybe less… But hey, no need to start explaining our backstory while there's food on the table." She grinned and started to eat.

When dinner was over, Zander was exhausted.

"Okay, here's your room." Jean said, gesturing to one of the many doors in the long hallway. "The bathroom is down the hall. Have fun getting settled." She waved and turned to leave, and Zander entered the room.

It looked cozy enough. One of the beds had clearly been used already, and the other was cleanly made. He figured that the clean one was his, and he sat down.

Again he was reminded of all the things he missed out on since the day his parents were killed. The mattress of his bed was very soft, and he almost instantly fell asleep on it. He fell backwards into the softness with a thud, his wings opening up behind him, and his legs still dangling off the edge.

When Zander woke up, there was someone in the bed across the room. He chose to let them sleep.

He got out of bed and padded quietly down the hall to the bathroom. It was early enough that no one was in the boys' room, even though it was meant for multiple people. When he stepped up to the mirror, he nearly jumped with fright.

His hair was usually really poofy, but now it was exploding with tangles from his bad habit of rolling around in his sleep. He took the brush out of his bathroom bag and set to work.

"You need a haircut." Someone said behind him. He turned to see Aidyn, "Or you should just pull it back."

"I like to wear it like this." Zander muttered, pulling the brush through a particularly tricky knot.

"Just try it, here." Aidyn handed Zander a black ponytail.

Zander looked at it like he didn't know what it did.

"Here, let me do it for you. Give me your brush, please."

"Um… okay." He hesitantly handed it over.

Aidyn ran the brush through Zander's hair once more to smoothe it out and put the brush down. He took the soft, silver hair in his hands and pulled it up higher on his head, running his fingers through the hair on the sides of Zander's head and smoothing out the bumps. Then he took the ponytail ring and wrapped it around his hair securely.

"There you go." He turned Zander around to survey his work, and smiled. "Wow. It… it suits you. You know, now that I can see your face… You're pretty good looking."

"Uh… Thanks… I guess?"

"You're going to keep it that way."

"I am?"

"At least for today. I wasn't kidding when I said that it suits you, because it really does."

"Thank you." He smiled. It was one of the first genuine smiles to be on his face in years. His pointy and crooked teeth were visible through the grin, and Aidyn thought it was adorable.

"Hey, um, I have to take a shower, but I'll see you when I get back to our room."

"Wait, you're my roommate?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Oh, well, I fell asleep early, and woke up before you. I didn't know it was you, actually."

"Funny." Aidyn smiled again, "Well, anyway, see you later." He started towards the showers.

Zander went back to his room, unsure of what to do. After he sat around for a few minutes, he decided to explore. There was a dresser next to his bed, and when he looked inside, he found a lot of clothes. And they looked to be his size. Not to mention all the shirts had slits in the back.

He picked out a deep navy blue long-sleeved shirt and a grey vest. With these and a tight pair of grey jeans, he looked very handsome, especially with his silver hair in a ponytail. His feet were still bare, but he never liked shoes anyway.

Aidyn walked in a few minutes later, wearing a tight red t-shirt and regular blue jeans. His spiky black hair was all wet, and he rubbed his head with a towel to dry it out.

"We should probably go down to breakfast." Aidyn said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."


	2. Chapter 2

Zander was adjusting to living in the mansion quite well. It didn't take long for him to settle, as it had only been a week since they were saved from that underground lab.

He walked through the busy hallway full of students that were getting ready for school. He wanted to tell his sister good- bye and wish her luck for her first day of school.

Today he had his silver hair back in a ponytail, something he didn't normally do in front of the other students, and wore a dark purple long sleeved shirt under a light grey vest.

"Oh my gosh, Z!" Celine said, running up the stairs to greet him with a warm hug.

He squirmed out of her grip to get a good look at her. She was wearing a light purple blouse and tight black capris, her silver hair braided over her shoulder.

"You look great!" She yelled, hugging him again and curling a chunk of his hair between her fingers, grinning widely. "I can finally see your face!"

"Thanks." He shrugged, "Are you excited for school?"

"Yes! Professor Xavier made me an image inducer that hides my skin, but I otherwise look normal. It's so cool, I…" She frowned down at her little brother, who was obviously feigning his happiness. "Okay, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing." He said, while simultaneously saying, ~It's just that I think it would be cool to go to school,~ In her head.

~Zander,~ She thought back to him, ~Your wings aren't as easy to hide as my skin.~

~I know, but…~

~Not to mention that one other little fact.~

Zander blushed and looked at the floor, ~Oh yeah, that. Shit.~

"Don't worry, Z," She said aloud, "I'll help you after school today, and you'll be reading in no time. Or maybe I could ask the professor to help you."

He shrugged, suddenly interested in a loose string at the hem of his shirt, and hoping that nobody heard what Celine had said just seconds before.

"You don't need to be embarrassed. I'm sure that…" She was cut off by a voice shouting her name outside. "I'm sorry, but we can talk later." She kissed the top of his head and ran outside to her friend, pressing a hand to her bracelet as she walked.

Zander took a breath and started upstairs.

As he reached the door to the Professor's office, he heard the muffled voices of Aidyn and Xavier inside. They stopped as he lifted a hand to knock.

"Come in, Zander." Xavier said through the door. The boy opened it and quietly stepped inside, shutting it behind him. "Is there something you need?"

"Uh, yeah, um, well… Actually, um, I was wondering…" He looked down and added quietly, muttering under his breath, "Iwaswonderingifyouwouldteachmehowtoread."

"Speak up, please, Zander."

He took another deep breath, "I wanted to know if you would teach me how to… read."

Xavier's eyebrows shot up. He hadn't gotten much from Zander, being that he had strong walls placed in his mind, so it was quite a surprise when the boy admitted this need.

Aidyn spoke up, "You don't know how to read?"

Zander shook his head, "My parents died when I was four, and Celine had to take care of me. She was already ten, so she knew how to read and write, but she didn't have enough spare time to teach me. I at least know the alphabet."

"I'll teach you!" Airyn said suddenly. "I have a lot of patience and I've taught my little cousins how to read, too."

"Really?" Zander's eyes lit up.

"Sure." He turned to the old telepath sitting near them, "Thanks for the talk, Prof., but I'm going to go help Zander."

"Of course. Have fun, you two."

The boys nodded and Aidyn dragged Zander to the library. The halls were nearly empty, save for a few instructors, with the students off to school.

"Aidyn, how come you're not going to school?"

"Well, I have reasons."

"Um, okay… Should we get started?"

"I guess." Aidyn grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil. "We should start by learning the sounds of the letters… Unless you already know them?"

Zander shook his head, blushing a bright shade of red.

"Okay, the letter A…" They went on for hours, taking a break for lunch, and by the time school was just about over for everyone else, Zander was able to read a few small words. His handwriting was extremely sloppy, but it was at least legible… well, sort of. They had decided to stay in the dining room after a while of sitting in the library.

"Can I go to bed?" Zander whined, "I'm getting tired."

"You can go to bed as soon as you read this sentence." Aidyn handed him a slip of paper with the words, 'Your sister is coming home,' written on it.

"Y-yow-er, no, your. Your s-s…" He frowned in frustration, trying to make sense of the words, "s-sister. Your sister is…" Groaning, He slammed the paper down on the table, turning away and mumbling; "This is fucking stupid. I don't know any of these at all."

"That's why we're working on it." The older boy smiled, ignoring the twelve year old's foul language. "It says, 'your sister is coming home.'"

"Is it that time already?"

"Yes, it is. Hold on, I'll be right back." He got up to get a drink, and when he got back, Zander was asleep, with his head on the table and his arms dangling beside him.

The main door opened, and the whole mansion was hit with the sound of over twenty students talking about their day all at once. Aidyn sauntered to the entryway to the kitchen. He turned to the students and sighed.

"Hey, Aidyn." Celine shouted from across the room, walking over and turning off her hologram, "Where's Zander?"

The boy nodded towards the kitchen and put a finger to his lips, pushing the door back open.

"I'll take him up to his bed." Celine said, picking Zander up like he weighed nothing, and he only stirred slightly. She took him upstairs and laid him down on his bed, covering him with a soft blue blanket.

She met back up with Zander in the dining room, where he stood stacking paper.

"What's all this?" She asked, picking up one of the papers. Most of it was incoherent scribbles, but there were some wobbly letters in there, too.

"I was teaching him to read and write." Aidyn said.

"Oh, I can't thank you enough!" She pulled him into a sudden hug.

"It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal? This is a huge deal to him, and to me."

"Yeah, well, It'll take a bit of work. He has the sounds down, but actually reading things confuses him."

"Still, thank you. I have some homework to do, so I'll see you later."

"See you." He smiled.

Zander's daily sessions with Aidyn continued for another week, and then Zander got a day just to himself.

It was a tuesday, and everyone was out of the house. Almost everyone, anyway. The kids were at school, and Aidyn was out for… well, he hadn't told Zander exactly why he was leaving, but Xavier had gone with. Ororo was out in her garden, and Logan was taking a ride on his bike.

Zander sighed as he stared at the ceiling. He knew what he needed, but he wasn't sure he would be allowed to go out.

Oh, fuck it. He thought, getting up. I'm way too mopey in here, anyway. I need to get out.

He found Ororo sitting outside on a bench by her flowers.

"Um, Mrs. Munroe, er, Storm?" He asked, "Would it be a problem if I flew down by the cliffside for a bit? I need to stretch my wings."

"So long as you be careful, Zander." The tall African woman smiled.

"Thanks. He lifted up off of the ground, enjoying the long forgotten feeling of the wind against his skin as he flew, his large wings flapping like a dragon's. He soared above the clouds, then plummeted downwards towards the cliff, rising back up just above the water.

Suddenly, something grabbed him, and he turned to see long, metal arms, like those in the danger room, coiling around his limbs. He thrashed wildly, attempting to get loose, but one of the aforementioned tentacle-things wrapped tightly around his throat. The arms pulled him upwards, tightening still.

As his vision began to darken, he caught sight of his kidnapper; an all-too-familiar face looming before him.

"It's a pleasure to see you once more…" A thickly accented voice said as the jet flew away, "Project 837."


End file.
